The independence dream rests on a fantasy that Brussels waits with open arms and that North Sea oil wealth will solve all problems once Scotland leaves. Neither claim holds water. The EU has no interest in admitting a region with massive structural deficits and a relatively small economy. Oil revenues fluctuate wildly and never matched the fiscal burden they were supposed to solve. Edinburgh's independence movement has become a safety valve for discontent with Westminster, not a genuine political project. As long as Scotland clings to this fantasy instead of addressing its real economic ties and constraints, independence talk will continue to go nowhere.